@ Julz: According to Bonny Taylor, "It's a heartache, nothing but a heartache . . ."
Else: Check: http://www.webtranslate.de/cgi-bin/owDEc.cgi?...

Its, of course, 'Bonnie Tyler' . . .

I'm not a doctor, but I think we'd say "stabbing pain in the heart" or even "stabbing chest pain(s)". It's not as precise, but this is more likeley to be said by NS.
I've never heard anyone say "shooting pain in the heart" as suggested by the online translation service.

Daddy, both your suggestions are poor - for a start Bonnie Tyler sings more like "it's a hard egg" and "shooting pain in the heart" is rubbish.

should be "likely" of course.
@Marianne: Ah, another country music basher? They're always singing about hard eggs!

@wpr
not necessarily bashing - merely a statement of fact.
My taste in music can best be described as eclectic.

@ Marianne: You can't be serious, can you ?!? -
Bonnie Tyler never sang about 'hard-boiled eggs', did she ???
And pls, don't attribute the contents of the link I provided upon me, will you ?
Thank U !

In English, even though it's not as literal a translation, wouldn't we more often say just 'angina' or 'angina pains' or 'heart pain' or something? Maybe that it's just that I don't know what angina is like from personal experience, but to me as a layperson, actual shooting/stabbing pain in the chest sounds more ominous, closer to an actual heart attack, not just something that happens with shortness of breath. I would expect 'shooting/stabbing' more at the cardiologist's office or in the emergency room, in answer to the question 'Can you describe your chest pain? Is it sharp or dull?' etc. If that didn't occur to Marianne I'm probably off base, I realize, but just out of curiosity ...

Regardless, I agree that 'pain in the heart' is unidiomatic, since in English we speak of chest pain.

@hm--us
interesting point. After a bit of Googling this morning "Herzstechen” - more of a lay term than a technical one - seems to be used in two ways (I would be grateful for a native German speaker to confirm - BF?)

"Herzstechen" often related to causes other than cardiac (anxiety, stress, muscular) and to involve stabbing pains “Stechen”
Contrary to popular opinion, neither angina nor heart attacks usually present with stabbing or shooting pains in the region where people imagine their hearts to be (sweeping generalisations there, I know).
"Herzstechen
(weiblich, 13)
Ich habe seit gestern herzstechen. Es tut sehr weh, besonders wenn ich herzhaft lachen muss oder renne."
http://rbx.at/sexlove/1271482.php?id=10
(the above is a very dubious site, I agree, but I post it as an example of use)
"Kann Herzstechen psychisch bedingt sein?
ein Freund von mir klagt oft über Stechen in der Herzgegend. Mehrere EKG's, Echos, Lufu's und Rö. Th's waren o.B. Nun die Frage kann dies auch psychisch bedingt sein? Was könnte es für Ursachen haben?"
http://www.krankenschwester.de/forum/kardiolo...
"Ich habe im Moment stressbedingt und durch Sorgen Herzstechen und Herzrhythmusstörungen. Ich war beim Arzt, es ist alles in Ordnung, es kommt eben wirklich nur von der Psyche."
http://www.seniorentreff.de/diskussion/archiv...
"Also bei Herzstechen kann beim besten Willen das Forum nicht den in Urlaub befindlichen Hausarzt ersetzen!! Das kann 100 und 1 verschiedene Ursachen haben, vom Herzinfarkt bis Lungenembolie."
http://www.vaskulitis.org/forum/forum-alt-4.html
"(stabbing) chest pains/pains in the chest" would be appropriate for these examples, while “angina” would be inaccurate.

"Herzstechen" can apparently also be used to describe the "tightness/tight band" of true anginal pain, as in the following example intended for parents of children with heart problems:
“Auch das Symptom Herzstechen […] Dadurch entsteht ein meist ringformiger Druck in Brustraum, und nicht ein Stich, wie das Wort Herzstechen eigentlich nahe legt.”
http://www.herzstiftung.de/pdf/zeitschriften/...
so that here “anginal pain”/“angina” would be more appropriate.

So, context as always … :-)
Either way, “pain in the heart” is not idiomatic.

thank you marianne! in my case 'stabbing pain in the chest' would be the right option i think... now i just have to find out why i keep having it since a couple of days =(